


You'll be my home

by reyavalentine



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Gueira and Meis love their Boss, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24323845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyavalentine/pseuds/reyavalentine
Summary: The voices of the past and of the mysterious flames don't leave Lio alone. Fortunately, there are those who won't let him suffer in silence anymore.
Relationships: Lio Fotia & Gueira & Meis
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	You'll be my home

**Author's Note:**

> The events unfold after the Mad Burnish flee from the Freeze Force in "Lio-hen".

The road is long and tiresome. Lio has to make sure that Kray’s people are not following them as he leads everyone to a new hiding place he found beforehand. Namely...

“The foot of the volcano?!” Gueira exclaims in excitement as soon as the Mad Burnish arrive at the place, following their new leader.

“The heat of the volcano will help us disguise our flames. We’ll stay here for a while and then... we’ll see.” Lio responds right away but it’s quite obvious that he’s deep in his thoughts. This shelter is just a temporary measure but it is enough for them to keep a low profile for a time being.

One day they will be able to build a place they can call their own. Their home.

***

Lio can’t help but feel curious looks that Meis and Gueira cast at him from time to time as he’s walking between his new comrades and talking to each one of them. He wants to make sure that they are relatively comfortable, physically and mentally. Lio is not a fool – he knows that he’s managed to gain their respect by the demonstration of his mighty power but not their trust. Not yet, at least.

But these thoughts don’t stop him from talking to all of them. He listens to their problems attentively, gives advice to those who have problems with controlling their flames.

They spend the next few days in scouting for information and thinking of some plan – any plan – to save their captured comrades. Lio, like a good leader, gives everyone a chance to suggest their own idea.

Meis suggests stealing a couple of drilling vehicles, upgrading them with their flame and digging a tunnel under the prison.

“Do you... actually know how to operate these vehicles without burying everyone underground?” Lio asks with a raised brow.

Meis is thinking for a minute and shakes his head.

Well, he’s being honest, at least.

“Who cares about stupid plans!” Gueira butts in, fists up. His eyes are sparkling with the same flames he used against their enemies not long ago. “Let’s just go there and show them our power! They’re gonna think twice before messing with us again!”

Lio shakes his head. “No, that’s far too dangerous. We can’t risk losing even more people.” He looks at the remaining Burnish who listen to him attentively and don’t even try to protest. They know that he’s right but keep silent out of respect to their former leaders.

“Well, in that case, what’s your plan, _Boss_?” Gueira asks skeptically, arms folded. The disappointment on his face that his plan – a perfect plan invented by him and only him! – was rejected, is painfully obvious.

No one seems to like Lio’s plan at first. It’s no surprise – he outright suggests that they should let Kray’s people catch him and both his generals and then hope for the best. But when Lio explains in detail how they are going to do it, the Mad Burnish go silent for a moment, contemplating his words.

“It... could work.” Meis acknowledges finally, thoughtfully tapping his finger against the map, laying on an old and wobbly table.

“This is gonna be a blast!” Gueira agrees with the widest grin on his face.

It was decided.

Late at night when their plan is fully discussed and smoothed, Lio, tired and exhausted beyond the limit, chooses the farthest corner and lays down on a tattered mattress on the ground. All the other Burnish are asleep already, settled down and cheered up by the words of their new leader.

However, for some reason, Lio himself can’t fall asleep despite exhaustion. He just stares at the sky, dusted with bright stars, through the holes in the roof. His heavy thoughts refuse to let him go and have a fully deserved rest.

_We Burnish don’t kill without reason._

He feels like such a hypocrite every time he speaks these words out loud. He clenches his fists, trying to hold back the flames burning his chest from the inside.

How many people did he kill when he awakened his power? And how much more he turned into ashes before he learned to control it properly?

Lio hates these flames, with all his heart and soul, but he can’t do anything to stop them altogether. All he _can_ do is to accept his cruel destiny. To bite his lip until it bleeds and move forward even if everything that awaits him at the end of the road is just an abyss encircled with the cursed flames. But... he really wants to make sure that his path won’t be littered with the scorched corpses on every centimeter of it. That's all he can hope for.

But is it enough..?

He’s slowly slipping into the fiery abyss that haunts him even when he’s awake.

_Lio... Lio, please..._

_Lio, stop! I’m begging you, stop!_

_Lio, you have to save them..._

_Lio, you are the only one who can possibly do it._

_Lio..._

There is so much fire in every cell of his body but even with its help Lio couldn’t save the people he loved. Not even once. The last person he tried to save turned into the ashes in his arms, begging for help.

No matter how many times he tried he only made everything worse.

He has so much power that probably can burn down all the life on the Earth.

So much power that turns out to be utterly useless when he really needs it.

What if his plan doesn’t work after all? What if Kray’s scientists have already invented the devices that can stop even him? What if all of them will be mercilessly killed during their attempt to escape?

Is he capable of saving anyone? Is he capable of saving at least one innocent soul with the hands that can destroy the whole world?

The voices – both of the raging flame and the dying people – continue echoing in his head non-stop.

_Lio..._

_Lio..._

_Lio…_

_Boss..._

“BOSS!”

Lio opens his eyes abruptly. There are two white spots above him that slowly turn into the worried faces of Meis and Guiera. Lio blinks, trying to figure out if this is still a part of his dream – a nightmare, to be precise – or not.

“Wha-“ he coughs in an attempt to make his voice less croaky. “What’s going on?”

“Boss, you were screaming in your sleep.” Meis says quietly.

Immediately Lio fights back a blush, ashamed of himself. Was he _that_ loud?

“I apologize.” he says in a deliberately steady voice, struggling to appear calm and collected. He can’t afford to lose their respect, too. Lio lifts his face, looking them straight in the eye, ready to face any negative emotion they might demonstrate but...

He finds no mockery nor disdain at the bottom of their pupils, only flame reflections. Both Meis and Gueira look at him with understanding, so unlike the pity that Lio hates so much.

“It’s okay, Boss.” Meis sits down near him.

“No need to hold back!” Gueira agrees, plopping down on a dusty mattress, too.

Lio just stares at them, confused. He doesn’t understand the meaning of their words at first. But he feels an intense shudder in his body, an unbearable chest burn and stinging in his eyes – and that tells him more than their words. Lio clenches his fists so hard that his nails bite into his palms, leaving distinct semi-circles on his pale skin. He breathes in and out, and his breath is shaking.

Lio realizes, with a growing feeling of despair, that the flames in his body become more and more intense despite all his efforts to contain them. He throws a helpless glance at the other Burnish, sleeping just a bit away from them.

But Meis and Gueira understand him without any words, as if reading his thoughts. They exchange a look and lift their hands up, forming tall soundproof walls from their flames around them.

Lio doesn’t have time to say anything, even a small “thank you”, because, as soon as he opens his mouth, the flames finally break free from it and engulfs every millimeter of the tiny spot the three of them occupy at the moment. The scream follows a bit later, like thunder after lightning, and fills the surrounding air.

Lio’s eyes are completely dry – not a single teardrop has fallen from his eyes since he become a Burnish, – but now flaming tears are streaming from his blown pupils, engulfing everything around them. Everything turns into ashes – the floor, the rest of the roof, the mattress underneath them... All the feelings that Lio was holding back for so long, all his anger, hate, despair, pain and _loneliness_ – all of them are coming out at once in a roaring fiery stream, that swallows down all the unnecessary short-lived things and embraces him at the same time, lovingly, like a mother embraces her frightened child.

_Let it burn! Let it burn! I want to burn more! I want to burn everything! I want everything to burn to ashes!_

The last thought is as tempting as it is terrifying, and Lio casts a worried look at Meis and Gueira. However, they just smile at him reassuringly, engulfed in those same flames, burning just as hot.

They know. They feel the same.

Lio inhales as deeply as his lungs allow him, and the flame that was burning his insides all this time, finally leaves him, filling the air with its unbearable heat.

***

“Feeling better now?” Meis asks sympathetically when Lio’s flames finally fade, leaving behind just a barely visible trail of sparkles. The fire walls fade away, too, not needed anymore.

“Y-yeah.” Lio croaks, wiping his eyes with his fist – a habit from the days when his tears were made of salty water and his life was _normal_. There is still a little trembling inside his chest, but he feels cleansed and light as a feather after all this burning and screaming.

“We had it just as bad,” Gueira says nonchalantly, looking up to the sky. “At first you hate all this bullshit and want it to go away. But then you just... get used to it. And one day you even find yourself getting high from it.”

Lio just chuckles. His composure rapidly returns to him.

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, Boss,” Meis starts, putting his hand on Lio’s shoulder. “But we Burnish are a family. And we support each other no matter what.”

“Thank you, guys.” Lio looks down on his still trembling fingers. “I’m sorry that I woke you up like that, in the middle of the night.”

“No need to apologize, Boss. Just try to sleep again. We have an important day ahead of us, and we need you fresh and rested!” Meis tells him with a most serious look, still resting his hand on Lio’s shoulder.

Lio looks up and nods. He already feels an exhaustion creeping down on him but now it feels more like a warm and heavy blanket (rather than a leaden weight from before), promising a deep healing sleep.

“Yeah... That’s what I’ll do.” Lio covers his mouth with his hand, hiding a yawn. He lowers down on the earth and closes his eyes. It’s uncomfortable without a mattress but he had it worse in the past. At least he has a place to sleep peacefully at all. “You’d better go to sleep, too...” he starts sluggishly but goes silent almost immediately.

Instead of receding footsteps, he hears a quiet rustle and two breaths, sounding extremely close to him. Confused, Lio opens his eyes to see two boys, laying down on either side of him. Both of them settle a little lower so that their heads are about shoulder level with their leader.

“G-guys?” Lio calls to them, voice breaking. He's completely baffled by their behavior.

“You are our Boss, right? It’s our duty to protect you, even in your sleep.” Meis mumbles sleepily, placing his head on the sharp bone of Lio’s shoulder.

“Even from your nightmares.” Gueira adds, also placing his head on Lio’s shoulder and closing his eyes with a satisfied look on his face.

Lio, still having a hard time believing that all of this is real, slowly and carefully places his hands on their heads. The boys don’t even budge, and Lio, feeling bold, starts to stroke their hair. It is pretty simple to distinguish them by the sounds they make. Gueira’s fluffy hair is crinkling and crackling, while Meis’s long hair is rustling subtly. Both are fast asleep already, laying near him almost like little kittens near their mother.

Lio continues petting their hair in light, almost-not-there strokes. He realizes suddenly that this comparison is quite accurate, actually. Both Meis and Gueira – and everyone from the Mad Burnish – seem tough and bold but the truth is that all of them are still scared and lonely kids in this world that hates them and wants them gone. Everything that they have is their uncontrollable flames and their comrades.

And there’s no denying that Meis and Gueira are trying their best to protect both their power and their friends because that’s all they have left after this unwanted mutation and cruel society took everything away from them.

At first Lio was surprised with how fast it took them to call him their leader but now the reason of it is clear to him as day.

The Burnish know very well that he’s their only hope to keep what is left.

And Lio silently vows to himself, vows to the flames, burning his body, to the stars, gleaming subtly above his head, that he won’t let them down. He will save not only their chance to burn freely but also everything that still makes them human. As long as he’s alive, he won’t let them turn into the maniacs, who lost their minds because of despair and fear.

Lio’s eyelids slowly become heavy with sleep, and he puts his arms around the sleeping boys without even realizing it. He holds them tight and feels their warmth, so unlike his own, and their smell, not of the burning flesh and hair, but clean and fresh smell of the flames that brought them together.

**Author's Note:**

> Another traslation of my old work from Russian! I'm glad I managed to complete it right before the Promare 1st Anniversary 😊 Lio is my fiery angel and he deserves all the love from his found family 💚
> 
> The title is a reference to the song "I'll Be Your Home" by Rin Oikawa! You can listen to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDDe8zwov9Y)
> 
> Thanks for reading! You can find me on Twitter [@mugofglass](https://twitter.com/mugofglass)!


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